Twenty fifth death anniversary of Bishop
Leo Nanayakkara, OSB:

A people's Bishop - Sunday Observer May
27 2007

Requiescat in Pace-Amen. And the mortal
remains of Rt. Rev. Dr. Leo Nanayakkara OSB, first Bishop of Badulla, and the
fourth Bishop of Kandy, were laid to rest in the bosom of St. Mary's Cathedral
on May 31st 1982. He died in Kandy on his way to an important Bishop's
Conference meeting in Colombo on 28th May 1982.

Bishop Leo affectionately known to all who
came in contact with him by that name, was a man of determination, active with a
heart full of human sympathy well read, much travelled abroad, versatile, able
speaker, simple in his ways and approachable to all and a strong upholder of
human rights.

His heart was with the poor and destitute,
the young and the drop outs. In fact his death occurred almost a day or two
after the youth rally held at Badulla, organised by the whole of Uva, (Badulla
Diocese) at which Bishop L. R. Anthony, then Bishop of Trincomalee - Batticaloa,
presided.

He had a good word for everyone. But he
believed that deeds are much more important than words. So he spurred everyone
to action. To social action he encouraged them also as to build up a just
society, not in mere theory but in real lives witness.

Leo Nanayakkara was a late vocation and he
thought of becoming an OSB monk after a chequered career in the clerical
service. It was a search that led to a life long search.

The Kachcheri clerk, Conrad who joined
Monte Fano in 1941 was ordained Leo OSB in 1950, at the age of 33. He was on the
tutorial staff of St. Anthony's College Katugastota when he was nominated as the
first Sinhala Bishop of the See of Kandy.

His predecessor late Bishop Bernard Regno
OSB was a man of deep prayer. Bishop Leo was a man who sought to live his prayer
life in committed action among the masses commended to his leadership as chief
Pastor.

Like the great Pope Leo XIII whose name he
bore. Bishop Leo stood out fearlessly for the cause of the oppressed and the
downtrodden. This got him embroiled in controversy and conflict. It cost him a
great deal. It caused him a great pain of mind and anxiety.

Like many pioneers of his calibre he was
denounced, and suspected. But Bishop Leo stood out dauntlessly and fearlessly
for his convictions. It was this conviction that made him to move over to the
rugged desolate plains of Uva from the cultural vantage point of the ancient
glamour city of Kandy.

This determination and conviction was
instrumental in inspiring a group of like minded men to blare a trail of
evangelizing witness to truth and justice, in the forgotten plains of 8,088 sq.
Kilometers, that form the homestead of eight lakhs almost of Sri Lankan
peasants.

Bishop Leo's services was not limited to
the crying needs of his diocese where he ministered to all irrespective of
religious or other difference. He was an outstanding member of the Catholic
Bishop's Conference of Sri Lanka. He headed the National Commission for Human
Development, SEDEC and the Catholic Commission for justice and Peace came
directly under his purview.

He was a social apostle of national
standing not doing out in social services only as in the past but more
especially building up conviction among masses to committed social action and
social change for a society that is just and true. He valued the common humanity
very highly and wished to witness to Christ by helping their advancement without
bargaining truth and without expecting any rewards.

He was a thinker with an incisive mind. He
drew a clear distinction between social action and social service, between piety
and true religion. Bishop Leo was from a Sinhalese Buddhist background, a
heritage of which he was justly proud.

He had an uncle who was a Buddhist monk.
He understood the mind of the Buddhist and exhorted the Christians to understand
people of other faiths. He was a practical man who was a champion of the
oppressed selflessly and not selfishly as some of the country's leaders do.

Though he was from the Sinhalese Buddhist
background he championed the cause of the Tamils because he valued humanity very
much. He stood for the unity of the land. Bishop Leo brought new thinking into
the Catholic Bishop's Conference of Sri Lanka.

One day at the FMM prayer house in
Bandarawela Bishop Leo stunned all present with a loudly uttered secret, Two
books changed my life profoundly and made me find ever more meaning in life and
those were Fr. Eugene's OCD two books on the contemplative Theresa of Avita.